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List of cholesterol lowering drugs

Get your entire list of Cholesterol lowering drugs, their generic and brand names you can find them, their mode of action and how they effect the lipid profile. Read more in the following paragraphs.

According to American Heart Association, cholesterol lowering drugs are considered for patients whom their blood cholesterol levels are still high despite following TLC (Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes) guidelines, which include healthy diet plan, regular physical exercise, and weight loss measures.

The following table shows the criteria of most qualified patients for cholesterol drug therapy…..

LDL“Bad” Cholesterol	DrugConsiderationlevel	Aimof drug Therapy
Patients not having coronary heartdisease (CHD) and with low risk factors	≥190 mg/dl	≤160 mg/dl
Patients nothaving CHD but with high risk factors	≥160 mg/dl	≤130 mg/dl
Patients with CHD	≥130 mg/dl	≤100 mg/dl

The drugs included in the list of cholesterol lowering drugs are used alone or combined with other types of drugs in order to reach the goal. Definitely, your doctor is the right person to decide your treatment drug or drugs of choice.

List of cholesterol lowering drugs

Category

Genericname

Brandname

Modeof action

Effect

Statins (HMG- CoA reductase inhibitors)

atorvastatin

Lipitor®

Reduce theproduction of cholesterol in the liver

<LDL 18-55%

<TG 7-30%

>HDL 5-15%

fluvastatin

Lescol®

lovastatin

Mevacor®

Altoprev™

pravastatin

Pravachol

rosuvastatin Calcium

Crestor®

simvastatin

Zocor®

lovastatin + niacin

Advicor®

atorvastatin + amlodipine

Caduet®

simvastatin + ezetimibe)

Vytorin™

Selectivecholesterol absorption inhibitors

ezetimibe

Zetia®

Block the cholesterol absorption from smallintestine

<LDL

<TG

>HDL

Resins (bile acid sequestrant or bileacid-binding drugs)

cholestyramine

Questran®

Questran® Light

Prevalite®

Locholest®

Locholest® Light)

Enhance the increased clearance of cholesterol. Normally, thebody utilizes cholesterol to make the bile acid which is important indigestion. These cholesterol lowering drugs canbind to the bile acid, thus prevent its use during digestive process. Usually,the liver will respond by producing more bile, consequently, the morebile the liver produces, the more cholesterol it consumes.Eventually, few cholesterol particles will be circulatingin the blood.

LDL <15-30%

HDL >3-5%

TG Noeffect or slightly increased

colestipol

Colestid®

Colesevelam Hcl

WelChol®

Fibrates (fibric acid derivatives)

gemfibrozil

Lopid®

Fibric acid drugs aremost effective in lowering blood triglycerides level, they can increaseHDL “Good” cholesterol as well. Unfortunately, this cholesterol lowering drugs group is not effective in lowering LDL “Bad”cholesterol, because these drugs have no or minimal effect on loweringLDL cholesterol. Therefore, fibrates are used for the treatment ofhypertriglyceridemia or to increase HDL levels, fibrates can be prescribedindividually or in combination with statins.

LDL â5 %

HDL á10-20%

TG â20-50%

fenofibrate

Antara® Lofibra® Tricor®, Triglide™

clofibrate

Atromid-S

Niacin (nicotinicacid)

Applied in form of prescription drug or dietarysupplement

Immediate release (crystalline) nicotinicacid

Niacor ®

Niacin works by influencing the synthesis of bloodfats by the liver.

LDL <5-25%

HDL >15-35%

TG <20-50%

Extended release nicotinic acid

Niaspan ®

Sustained release nicotinic acid

Available as a dietary supplement only